Electrical connector with doubleended socket contacts



Sept. 15., 1959 H. H. BURTT ETAL 2,904,771

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH DOUBLEENDED SOCKET CONTACTS Filed Feb. :5,1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 o fza I O IN V EN TOR.

HOPdf/O A! 1500/? gs BYDOAMZD 2 05/74? AVTOQ/VEF Sept- 15, 1959 H. H.BURTT ETAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH DOUBLE-ENDED SOCKET CONTACTS 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 3, 1955 #024775 2??? BY DOA/4Z0 2. 08234fig/4.

United States Patent ELECIRICAL CONNECTOR WITH DOUBLE- ENDEDi SOCKETCONTAQTS Horatio, H. Burttg. Stamford, and: Donald R. De Tar, StratfordtCorina; said De. Tar assiguor to said Burtt Application February 3,1955, Serial No. 485,945-

3 Claims. (Cl; 3395-184) This invention relates to an electricalconnector formed of, two parts having; male contacts and an intermediatedOllbiQrCIldCd socket contact adaptor.

Heretofore, hermetically sealed connectors with pln contacts which matewith hermetically sealed connector parts having socket contacts havebeen produced and used in such places as in aircraft to prevent airleakage from pressurized cabins. Such connectors have also been usedsuccessfully in other places where the pressure within a space must bemaintained while, having in its wall thereof electrical connections forthe passing of electric current therethrough. Such connectors have been,of the type having a metal body in which the pin contacts have beensecured within openings therein by the use of glass insulating beadsfused to the wall of the connector body opening and to the pin contact.Such contacts have been individually fused within the connector body andalso severally fused in. a single opening, but separated from oneanother.

There are certain installations, where it has beenrequired to have ahermetically sealed" connector with socket contacts lying within anintermediate adaptor part and with two connector parts. connectedthereto at the opposite sides thereof with pin. contacts, all of whichare hermetically sealed by glass beads in openings provided in the metalconnector bodies. it would seem that socket contacts could be similarlyconnected with openings by glass. insulating beads in the same mannerthan pin contacts are connected. This has been found to be a problem andthe present invention has been made to overcome this problem, It wasfound that only certain materials such as nickel-iron alloys could besatisfactorily fused into the glass insulating beads. While such alloyscould be used for the male or pin contacts, they could not be used forthe socket contacts because of their lack of spring; quality. If such aspring material were available, which would fuse to the glass,,it wouldbe annealed by their:-

tense heat ,of the fusing operation so that it would; not

make a satisfactory electrical connection to the mating pin contact.

in printed card circuits adapted to be connected to a receptacle ofconventional design that is ordinarily mounted in the customersequipment and in which the printed card has pin contacts extending fromone side adapted to fit into the receptacle and pin contacts from theother side adapted to mate with other receptacles, the customers circuitmay require that the electrical connections be made between the. pinsextending to the right of the printed card and to pins, extending to theleft on h r printed c rds I it is accordingly an obi-cot of thisinvention to provide n. elec r al c nnector ha will ha e an int mediamember with double-ended sockets. so that the pin contacts on theconnector parts or printed cardcircuits can be connected together with aminimum of Qffort.

It is another object of the invention to. providev an adaptor forhermetic connector parts. having pin conice tacts so. as to permit the.engagement of one hermetically sealed connector part with pin contactsto another hermetically sealed connector part with .pin contacts andthereby eliminate the need for having to employ a special alloy such asnickel-iron for the socket contacts on the connector part and to allowthe use of socket contacts made from standard spring material.

It is still another object of the invention to .provide an electricalconnector wherein an adaptor having doubleended' socket contacts can beaifixed to the pin connector part of the customers equipment by means ofthe polarizing elements on the adaptor which can be threaded into theopeningsin which the polarizing parts of the connector were secured sothat theadaptor thereby becomes fixed to theconnector member in thecustomers equipment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a double-ended socketcontact for the adaptor in which the spring fingers on one end of thecontact are stiffer than the spring fingers on the other end of thecontact, the stifier fingers being used on the pinsof the connector ofthe customers equipment where. there, is a little sliding action toclean oil: any corrosion which might occur and where the adaptor isheldim novable'upon the connector part of the customers equipment; andthe more resilient fingers are adapted tore ceive the pins of theseparable connector half or part-where a relatively low frictional forceisdesirable to permitthe easy removal of the separable connectorhalf; v

Other objects OfihQlIiVefltlOn are toprovide an electrical connectorhaving two connectorparts with pin contacts and an intermediateadaptorpart having doubleended sockets with the above objects in rnind,which is of simpleconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture, has aminimum number-ofpaits, is easytoassemble of pleasing appearance,compact, durablehas longlife, efiicient and efieotive-in'use. i

For other objects and a betterunderstanding of the invention, referencemay; be had to the following detailed description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front faceelevational view of a connector part having-pin contacts connected tothe connector body by means of glass insulating beads, the connectorpart beingthat which is fixed to the customers equipment;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the completely assent bled connectorwith portionsbroken away to show the interior construction thereof andthemanner in which the parts are connected to 'one'another;

Fig. 3 is an exploded fragmentarysectionalview showlijpg the connectingparts of the lower end of the assem- Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a'connector part wherein the pin contacts are embedded 'in a common glassbead but separated from one another;

Fig. 5 is an end elevational View of the assembly 'with the-adaptor inplace upon the fixed connector part and the. separable connector partslightly. out of engagement with the adaptor and in position to. bethrust home rein;

is a per pec iewf a..double=endeclz socket contact such as usedon-theadaptor-part;

Fig. 7 is anenlarg ed' fragmen arysecticn l vi w taken through one ofthe s cket c ntacts and as: viewed n l ne. 7-7- of1Fig. 31,;v 1

g- 7a is a. fragmentary view of .c itied format theinventi ni; r v IFig. 8, is an elevational view oi a printed-circuitc8d having male pi cosztsdon ,theopwsi e de thereof; Fig. 3 is n a d s ev iona-l view. ofaprinted circuit .tened wire attaching portions 16".

are used to secure smaller circuit cards to the one printed circuitcard;

Fig. is an elevational view of the socket contact connector part;

Fig. 11 is an end elevational view of the printed circuit card with thepins on the opposite face thereof;

Fig. 12 is a collective view of the small printed circuit cards with theadaptors respectively connected thereto;

Fig. 13 is a front face elevational view of the receptacle forming apart of the customers equipment;

Fig. 14 is a front face elevational view looking upon one side of theprinted card;

Fig. 15 is a collective view of the front face of each of the smallprinted cards to which the adaptors are attached;

Fig. 16 is an enlarged end elevational fragmentary view of the assemblytaken through the main printed circuit card and one of the small printedcards and one adaptor, the view being broken away to show the interiorconstruction of the cards and the adaptor and the doubleended socketcontact therein:

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6, 15 represents a metalbody connector part having pin or male contacts 16 individuallyinsulated from the metal body by glass beads 17 fused to the metal bodypart within openings thereof and to the pin contacts which are made ofnickel-iron alloys to withstand the fusing operation of the glass. Thereare a number of these pin contacts and they are usually arranged in rowswithin the metal body, as shown in Fig. 1, and may be of differentsizes. A large contact will have a flattened portion 16 with a holetherein and to which wires are aflixed and soldered. The small pincontacts have similar flat- On one end of the connector part and withinan opening 18 thereof is a male guide pin 19. This guide pin has athreaded portion 20 that is threaded into an opening 21 of a retainingsocket 22 extending through the opening 18 of the metal body part 15 upto its flange 23, Fig. 2. This guide pin 19 is removable with a screwdriver inserted in an end slot 24 and it is extended into the threadedopening 21 up to its flange 25. The guide pin 19 is removable from thethreaded opening 21 for the purpose of attaching adaptor 26 thereto. Theconstruction and purpose of this adaptor 26 will be described in detailfurther on.

On the other end of the metal contact body 15 and as seen in Fig. 3,there is provided a female guide socket 27 having a threaded portion 28adapted to enter a threaded opening 29 of a retaining member 30 insertedwithin an opening in the metal body up to its flange 31. The guidesocket 27 has a shoulder 32 that engages the end of the retaining member30 when the guide socket 27 is at home therewithin. The guide socket 27is secured by a screw driver that can engage slot 33 in the end thereofto turn the guide pin into the threaded opening 29 or to remove ittherefrom.

It will be seen that the connector part 15 is of hermetically sealedconstruction, and this part is usually fixed in sealing engagement inthe wall of a customers equipment.

In order to have the objects of the present invention fulfilled and tobe able to connect to the connector part 15 another connector partwherein the contacts are hermetically sealed within the body thereof aswith glass insulating beads, it has become necessary to provide theadaptor 26 which will have double-ended socket contacts 35 that willrespectively engage and connect with the respective pin contacts of theconnector part 15. These double-ended socket contacts 35 are made ofspring material since they do not have to be secured to their carryingbody by fusing or be subjected to heat that would cause them to becomeannealed. The adaptor 26 has stepped diameter openings 36 therein forreceiving the contacts 35 and to provide a shoulder 37 against which 1 4an intermediately located flange 38 of the contact 35 may engage.

The adaptor 26 with its contacts 25 is arranged to be permanentlyafiixed to the connector part 15. This is done by removing the guide pin19 and socket 27 of the connector part 15 and extending themrespectively through stepped diameter openings 39 and 40 respectivelyand tightening them to bring the face of the adaptor part against thefront face of the connector part 15. The opening 39 has a shoulder 41against which the flange 25 of the pin 19 will be tightened. The opening40 has a shoulder 42 against which the shoulder 32 of the female guidesocket 27 will be tightened.

The adaptor will seldom be removed once it has been secured to theconnector part 15. Accordingly, spring fingers 43 and 44 on one end ofthe double socket contact 35 are made stiffer and larger in externaldiameter than spring fingers 45 and 46 which are to receive pin contacts47 of a metal connector part 48 that will be separably connected to theadaptor 26 and which will have its contacts secured to the metal bodywith glass insulating beads and hermetically sealed. The spring fingers45 and 46 respectively have reinforcing beads 51 and 52 on their outerends to stiffen them and prevent wear resulting from the insertion andremoval of the pins 47 of the separable contact part 43.

To keep the double-ended socket 335 from rotating within the openings36, the opening 36 is provided adjacent its shoulder and throughout thelarger part thereof with a longitudinally extending face 53, Fig. 7,with which a cut away edge 38' of the flange 38 of the contact 35 canengage. In this way rotation of the contact is prevented.

While the pin contact 16 engages the socket contact 35 through the stifffingers 43 and 44, a desired tight fit is obtained at this point asthere is little, if any, relative sliding action to clean off anycorrosion which might occur. The more resilient fingers 45 and 46 engagethe pins 47 of the separable connector part where a relatively lowfrictional force is desired in order that the connector part 48 can beeasily separable from the adaptor 26.

The pin contacts 47 of the separable connector part 48 are insulatedfrom the metal body thereof by beads 54. These pin contacts 47 haveflattened terminal portions 47 and 47 to which wires of the other unitand within the wall of which this connector part 48 is attached.

The connector part 48 carries a socket guide member 55 that is threadedby its shank 56 into a threaded opening 57 of a retaining member 59,carried within an opening 60 in the body of the connector part 48. Thissocket member 55 mates with the pin 19.

At the other end of the connector part 48 is a male or pin guide 62adapted to engage with the socket guide member 27 in the adaptor 26.This guide pin 62 is held in the metal body by a retaining member 63that is internally threaded to receive a threaded shank portion 64 ofthe guide pin 62. The guide pin 62 is tightened by a screw driver sothat its flange 65 will engage shoulder 66 of the retaining member 63.

It should now be apparent that by the use of the adaptor 26 twohermetically sealed connector parts can be placed in electrical circuitrelationship with one another.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, there is shown the form ofthe invention wherein a plurality of pin contacts 70 are fused in aglass insulating mass 71 of circular shape and fused to the wall of alarge opening 72 in a metal connector body 73. These pin contacts 70have flattened end terminals 74. The pin contacts 70 are angularlyspaced relative to one another and a single contact is provided in thecenter of the glass mass. The connector part 73 is secured to thecustomers equipment and has retaining members 75 and 76 which normallysecure guide members thereto and in the manner'as above described wtihreferenceito. the first form of the invention.

In order that asimilarly constructed connector part 77 having pincontacts 78- to the connector parti-73 so that it can beseparated'therefrom, an adaptor 79 of insulating material is providedand is secured to the connector part 73 in the' manner above describedinconnection with the first form of the invention'and By the guide pins ofthe first connector part; I

This insulating block or adaptor 79- has a plurality of double-endedsocket contacts 80 similar tothe contacts 35' above described and spacedand arranged relative to one another so-as to be aligned and toreceive-the pin'contacts 70 of the connector part 73.

The connector part 77hasretaining members: 81 and 8-2 which carryandsecure to the separable connector part 77 guide-pins 8 3; and-84 adaptedto engage with the pins serving to hold the adaptor 79 upon the firstconnector part 73. As shown in Fig. 5, the separable connector part 77is not all the way home, but is inposition to-be thrust' into theadaptor part 791 This separable con.- nector 77 canbe attached to a unitwhich has-to be hermetically sealed. The pin contacts accordingly arehermetically sealed withinthe glass mass 85 within an opening 86in theconnector body.

The contact pins 70 of the connector part 73 engage with the relativelythick fingers 87 of a double-ended socket contact 80 and the pins 78engage themore resilient or thin fingers 88 on the opposite end of thesocket contact 80'.

It will be apparent that by the use of the adaptor 79 with thedouble-ended socket contacts the connector part 73 has been adapted foruse with another connector part 77 similarly constructed and which hasits contacts retained by glass insulating material and are hermeticallysealed.

Referring now to- Figs. 8" to- 16, a description will be made of theinvention as applied to printed circuit cards to effect the connectionof male or pin'contactsassembled upon the printed circuit cards in orderthat the cards can be connected to a receptacle having socket contactsand the connection thereto of other printed cards with thin contacts.The printed" card as indicated at 90 can be of any shape and hasconductors 91 that represent the circuit paths in full and as providedupon the near face of the printed card. The printed card 90 is formed ofinsulating material and the conductors are printed thereon by the usualprocesses. Dotted line conductors as indicated at 92 show the conductorson the opposite face of the card. These conductors lead from terminalareas 93 from which pin contacts 94 extend. The card 90 is as shownsubstantially twice the size of such a card having the presentadaptation. The minimum width of the conductors may be /32 of an inchwhile the minimum spacing of the conductors is of like dimension. Wherethe conductors cross over from one face to the other face, they are soindicated at 95- by the change of the full lines to the dotted lines.Holes 96 and 97 may serve for receiving screws for the attachment of thecards to fix the cards to a support. The conducting strips upon the cardof insulating material are generally applied by one of two methods. Withone method the desired pattern is printed on the face of the card with asemi-conducting ink, such as carbon or metal powder. in a suitablevehicle. The card is then electro-plated with a metal of highconductivity, usually copper or silver. The metal builds up on theconductive ink pattern, but the remaining surface of the insulating cardis left bare.

Another method of providing the conducting strips is to provide a thinfoil of metal, usually of copper upon one or both faces of the sheet ofinsulating material and by adhering the same thereto. The requiredcircuit pattern is then printed on the foil, using an impervious ink,such as varnish or lacquer. The whole card is then immersed in acorrosive bath, such as nitric acid, which etches. awaythe exposedmetal, but leaves intact" that portion of the metal which is protected:by-the ink. The ink is;'then; dissolved otfisoas to :leavetherequiredconductive pattern.

The conductive stripsforrned: byeither of' these methods are. usuallythin: andweak and: the strength of the bond between the metal and: theinsulator is usually not too great; The pincontacts- 94 are maderigidlyaflixed' to the insulating body... These. pin contacts must" bemated'with socket contacts inorder to. provide for a certain amount offloat; or side playrsothat propervv mating of the contacts willi, occur,even if there has. been some unavoidable mis spacing: of: thezcontacts'.

With the conventional type of connector,. such float or side play oneither or both the pin and socket contacts is-;tak.en. care of due tothe contacts being attached to flexible wiresi With" printed cards and aconnector for connecting two parallel printed circuit cards together,either set of contacts can float as the resultant movement of thecontacts wouldfflexv the weak printed circuit conductors and eventually.would 1' cause thenr to break.

The pins 94 at thezlower end of the printed card are adapted to bethrust into a receptacle 98 having pron-gs 99-that is apart ofthe;customersequipment. A guide pin 100 is also thrust into.thereceptacle 98' to stabilize the card upon: the receptacle 98.

Upon the: opposite face of the printed card? are projected: two rows ofpin contacts1=01 lying just above: the contactsc94, but upon; theopposite side thereof: Also on the opposite side ofthe card 901 and:along the upper portion thereof are-two-rows of pin contacts 102.

The; receptacle: 98' has. socket contacts 103 and 110.4: of larger size.The; guide pins 100; will enter guide pin sockets. 105 of the;receptacle 98, Fig. 13.

Thepin'contacts; are secured: to the card 90in'the man ner as: shown. inFig; 1:6; and each. has. a. flangev 106. that engages the face of thecard and an upset portion L07 that extends over theconductoron; theopposite surface ofwthecardl These pin: contactsv are rigidly retained'in the cards' and there is no chance of the samebeing flexed.

In order to make connection with the pins-101and'102, a receptacle 108and a receptacle 109- are respectively provided upon small printedcircuit cards 1'10) and 111. The card 110 has pin contacts 112; and thecard 111 has pin contacts 113. Thereceptacles or adaptors have.double-end socket contacts11=4- for engagement with the pins 101 and1021' and also for engagement with the pins112 and 113 of the smallcards 110 and 111.

Each of the pins.113 has a flange 115 that engages. one face of theprinted card and an upset portion 116 that engages a conductor 1 17provided on the outer face of the outer face of the; small printedcircuit cards 110. and 111. Screws 118. and 119* are provided on eachsmall printed card to secure the card to the adaptor 109 and 110'.

The adaptor 109 is formed of insulating material and has an opening 120for receiving the double-end socket contact 114 and a shoulder 121against which flange 122 of the socket engages. The conductors 117 canhave any pattern desired, depending upon the circuit being made upon thecard.

Since the deflection, or misalignment, of the pins 102 and 113, and aswell the pins 94 is accommodated by the spring double-ended sockets andthe spring sockets of the receptacle 98, there is little chance forworking the pin contacts to..a point where they might flex or break theweak printed circuit conductors. The circuit cards have pin contactsrigidly connected to the cards in rivet fashion. and electricallyconnected to the conductive strips by soldering. As with the hermeticconnectors previously disclosed, floating, double-ended socket contactsengage both sets of pins and provide electrical continuity whilepermitting a reasonable misalignment of the two sets of pin contacts. Itwill be seen that the basic idea is the same for the printed circuitconnector and the her- ,7 metically sealed connector, even though thereason for the use of each is different.

In Fig. 7a a metal body 130 contains contact pins 131 retained in glassbeads 132. This body has enlarged opening 133 of greater diameter thanthe external diameter of the socket type guide member in which there isfitted and brazed a guide pin retaining member 134 having an enlargeddiameter portion 135 having a reduced diameter portion 136 projectingtherefrom. Fixed to the reduced diameter sleeve portion 136 is a guidepin 137 that extends through the large diameter portion 135. A shank 137is press fitted and brazed to the reduced diameter sleeve portion 136.The cooperating socket guide pin member will fit into the enlargedportion 135 of the retaining member 134 when the socket member 27encompasses the guide pin 137. This construction makes for ahermetically sealed means for the securing of the guide pin to the metalbody 130.

It should noW be apparent that there has been provided means by whichhermetically sealed or glass bead connectors having pin contacts can beconnected with one another and where it is unnecessary to attempt to usespring contacts of the same material as the pin contacts and whereinthere will be no loss of springiness resulting from the fusing operationshould socket contacts have to be placed in glass beads or the need of afusing operation for socket contacts. It should thus now readily be seenthat the pin contact connector on the customers equipment can be readilyadapted for use with a unit also having a hermetically sealed pincontact.

It should also be apparent that with printed circuit cards the pins canbe readily affixed to the printed card in contact with the connectorsand due to the use of an adaptor having double-ended socket contacts,any misalignment can be taken up by the spring contacts so that the pincontacts will not be bent or injure or break the conductors.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising a connectorpart with a metal body having openings therein, pin contactsrespectively connected Within said openings With fused glass beads andprojecting therefrom, said contacts being of metal that will withstandthe fusing operation, an insulating body having a plurality of aperturesextending therethrough, double-ended socket contacts respectivelyretained within said respective apertures, each of said contacts havingresilient contact fingers at one end adapted for forcible engagementWith the pin contacts of the connector part, and resilient contactfingers at the other end for separable engagement with other pincontacts, a separable connector part with a metal body having openingstherein and pin contacts connected within said opening With fused glassbeads and projected therefrom for separable engagement with theseparable resilient fingers of the socket contacts of the insulatingbody, polarizing guide members afiixing the insulating body to the onemetal connector part and projecting from the insulating body and saidseparable connector part having polarizing guide member engageable withthe guide members projecting from the insulating body, said guidemembers being of pin and socket formation, the metal body of eachconnector part having an opening of a diameter greater than the diameterof the socket member, and a retaining sleeve for securing the pin guidemember Within the opening having a large diameter portion brazed to themetal body and a reduced diameter portion, and said pin guide memberbrazed to the reduced diameter portion and projecting through the largediameter portion, said large diameter portion receiving the socket guidemember when, the socket member encompasses the pin guide member.

2. A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising a connectorpart with a metal body having openings therein, pin contactsrespectively connected Within said openings with insulating beads andprojecting therefrom, said contacts being of metal, an insulating bodyhaving a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, doubleendedsocket contacts respectively retained Within said respective apertures,each of said contacts having resilient contact fingers at one endadapted for forcible engagement With the pin contacts of the connectorpart, and resilient contact fingers at the other end for separableengagement with other pin contacts, a separable connector part with ametal body having openings therein and pin contacts connected withinsaid opening with insulating beads and projected therefrom for separableengagement With the separable resilient fingers of the socket contactsof the insulating body, polarising guide members afiixing the insulatingbody to the one metal connector part and projecting from the insulatingbody and said separable connector part having a polarizing guide memberengageable With the guide members projecting from the insulating body,said guide members being of pin and socket formation, the metal body ofeach connector part having an opening of a diameter greater than thediameter of the socket member, and a retaining sleeve for securing thepin guide member within the opening having a large diameter portionbrazed to the metal body and a reduced diameter portion, and said pinguide member brazed to the reduced diameter portion and projectingthrough the large diameter portion, said large di ameter portionreceiving the socket guide member when the socket member encompasses thepin guide member.

3.A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising a connector partwith a metal body having openings therein, pin contacts respectivelyconnected Within said openings with insulating beads and projectingtherefrom, said contacts being of metal, and insulating body having aplurality of apertures extending therethrough, doubleendcd socketcontacts respectively retained within said respective apertures, each ofsaid contacts having resilient contact fingers at one end adapted forforcible engagement with the pin contacts of the connector part, andresilient contact fingers at the other end for separable engagement withother pin contacts, a separable connector part with a metal body havingopenings therein and pin contacts connected with said opening withinsulating beads and projected therefrom for separable engagement withthe separable resilient fingers of the socket contacts of the insulatingbody, polarizing guide members affixing the insulating body to the onemetal connector part and projecting from the insulating body and saidseparable connector part having polarizing guide members engageable withthe guide members projecting from the insulating body, said guidemembers being of pin and socket formation, the metal body of eachconnector part having an opening of a diameter greater than the diameterof the socket member, and means for securing the pin guide member withinthe opening having a large diameter portion brazed to the metal body anda reduced diameter portion, and said pin guide member brazed to thereduced diameter portion and projecting through the large diameterportion, said large diameter portion receiving the socket guide memberwhen the socket member encompasses the pin guide member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,265,341 Borchert Dec. 9, 1941 2,466,370 Burtt Apr. 5, 1919 2,513,305Gagnier et al July 4, 1950 2,603,681 Salisbury July 15, 1952 2,658,183.Klostermann et al. Nov. 3, 1953

